American Medical Association

The American Medical Assn. is spending $1 million to tell doctors not to accept big gifts from drug companies--in an education campaign funded mostly by drug companies. Critics expressed amazement about the AMA's use of industry funding. "Whoever is making decisions over there seems to be just brain-dead," Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the consumer-oriented Public Citizen Health Research Group, said Wednesday. "This is just prostitution." The AMA said a spokesman was not immediately available.

President Obama on Monday made his most detailed pitch yet for a $1-trillion overhaul of the nation's burdened healthcare system, calling it a "ticking time bomb" that threatens the nation's prosperity. Throughout his speech to the nation's largest doctors group, Obama sought to inoculate himself against opponents who have suggested his proposal would amount to a government takeover of healthcare.

The American Medical Assn., elevating its anti-smoking drive to a new level, called Tuesday for all investors to sell their shares in 13 tobacco companies and 1,474 mutual funds that hold tobacco securities. The step was the most sweeping call yet by a major public health organization for divestiture of tobacco stocks.

Insurance companies often fail to properly reimburse doctors, needlessly adding more than $200 billion a year to the nation's healthcare tab, the American Medical Assn. said Monday. An analysis of 3 million medical claims over a six-month period beginning in October also found that doctors in the U.S. spend 14% of the fees they receive from insurers and Medicare on the process of collecting those fees, the AMA said in a report issued at its annual meeting in Chicago.

The Justice Department's antitrust chief warned the medical profession Tuesday that doctors and dentists are under investigation by federal grand juries in three cities for possible price-fixing and that violators face up to three years in prison if convicted. In the first such public warning, Assistant Atty. Gen. Charles F. Rule told a Dallas meeting of the American Medical Assn.'s house of delegates: "We are on the lookout for other possible violations that merit criminal investigation."

Michigan chiropractor James Gregg recalled his shock and wonder when a cardiologist on the staff of New Center Hospital in Detroit strode up recently and thrust four medical charts into his hands. "These patients are complaining of chest pains and I can't find anything," he said gravely, according to Gregg. "You want to take a look?" When Gregg recovered from his surprise at being consulted by a heart specialist, he hurried to check out the patients.

In a key case involving the rights of the homeless, the Supreme Court Monday let stand New York City's ban on begging by panhandlers in its subway system. Without comment or dissent, the high court refused to reconsider an appeals court ruling in May which said that beggars are a "menace to the common good" who do not have a free-speech right to ask others for money. The court's action does not set a binding national rule of law because the appeal was dismissed without a formal opinion.

The American Medical Assn., saying that doctors are frustrated in their efforts to deliver high-quality care, took an extraordinary step Wednesday toward forming a labor union to give more power to physicians in their dealings with managed care companies. For the AMA, with a long history as one of America's most conservative institutions, the vote signaled an angry outcry by doctors who believe that they are losing autonomy in today's health care system.

The American Medical Assn. will pay Sunbeam Corp. $9.9 million after pulling out of a five-year deal in which the doctors' group was to endorse the company's products in exchange for royalties. Widely regarded as unethical, the controversy led to the dismissal of five AMA staff members. The settlement averts a trial, which had been set for Nov. 2 in federal court in Chicago. The AMA backed out of the deal after many criticized it because the group did not plan to test the products.

The American Medical Assn., holding its annual meeting in Atlanta, is weighing whether to support importing prescription drugs from outside the U.S. "We owe it to our patients to advocate for safe importation of drugs," Stephanie Stanton, a voting AMA delegate and medical student from the University of Minnesota, said at a meeting of the House of Delegates. "This is all because of our patients, and it is driven by our patients."

The American Medical Assn., holding its annual meeting in Atlanta, is weighing whether to support importing prescription drugs from outside the U.S. "We owe it to our patients to advocate for safe importation of drugs," Stephanie Stanton, a voting AMA delegate and medical student from the University of Minnesota, said at a meeting of the House of Delegates. "This is all because of our patients, and it is driven by our patients."

CHICAGO --The American Medical Assn. board has rejected a $1.6-million loan request from its pioneering doctors union, touching off a battle for its survival. Dr. Mark Fox, president of the union, Physicians for Responsible Negotiation, said Thursday that the board's move was unexpected and "has really cut the legs off the organization." "Since the AMA has been our sole source of funding, at this point it puts us in a bind," Fox said. He said the union's money probably will run out this summer.

Despite calls from some of its member doctors, the American Medical Assn. on Tuesday stopped short of supporting smallpox vaccinations for all Americans. Instead, the AMA called on federal health authorities to continue planning and studying the repercussions of a mass inoculation. The AMA is holding its winter meeting in San Francisco. "There are huge, complex issues involved and due deliberation is needed," said Dr.

The American Medical Assn. is spending $1 million to tell doctors not to accept big gifts from drug companies--in an education campaign funded mostly by drug companies. Critics expressed amazement about the AMA's use of industry funding. "Whoever is making decisions over there seems to be just brain-dead," Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the consumer-oriented Public Citizen Health Research Group, said Wednesday. "This is just prostitution." The AMA said a spokesman was not immediately available.

Stepping into a morally charged debate Tuesday, the American Medical Assn. called on the Food and Drug Administration to consider making the "morning-after" pill available over the counter. The AMA's policy-making House of Delegates approved the resolution without discussion during a convention here. The AMA has 293,000 doctors as members. "This is a wonderful decision by the AMA. This is a terrific resolution," said Joan Coombs, senior vice president of Planned Parenthood.

Doctors with the Wellness Plan, a 140,000-member HMO in Detroit, voted to organize under the American Medical Assn.'s bargaining arm, making them the first physicians to join the union. Physicians for Responsible Negotiation was formed last year by the AMA in response to what it described as increasing workload and financial pressures being placed on doctors by HMOs and other managed-care companies. Dr.

Two doctors urged the American Medical Assn. to reconsider its long-standing opposition to physician-assisted suicide as the practice gains favor and captures the attention of the courts. "What business is it of organized medicine to require the continuation of agony when the result is imminent and inevitable?" asked Dr. David P. Carter, a family doctor from Pawtucket, R.I., at the AMA's annual meeting in Chicago. In addition, retired Illinois radiologist Ulrich F.

The American Medical Assn. changed its ethical guidelines Tuesday to let doctors notify the motor vehicle departments in their states about patients with medical conditions that could make them unsafe drivers. The new policy, which would not be legally binding, makes public safety a priority over the confidentiality of patients with conditions such as senile dementia or alcoholism. "We all know that some people are driving when they shouldn't be," said Dr.

Intel Corp. and the American Medical Assn. will announce an alliance today to credential physicians for participation in a range of Web-based medical services, including patient care, that require secure authentication. Healtheon/WebMD and Medquist, two leading Web-oriented physician-service companies, will also use the credential service for transactions between doctors, patients, hospitals and medical labs.